Community Support
Students discuss cultural diversity and community involvement
May 8, 2024
The Asian Heritage Month 2024 opening event hosted by the OCCA Communities Association showcased diverse discussions and captivating performances. Ƶ was a proud supporter of the event alongside UBC Okanagan. The event celebrated cultural diversity and emphasized community involvement.The panel discussion was led by Dr. Shirley Chau, Associate Professor at the School of Social Work at UBC Okanagan. Students of Asian heritage from Ƶ, UBC Okanagan, and OKM Secondary joined the discussion, sharing their stories of ...
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Recsky gift to Recreation and Wellness Centre honours family passion
May 7, 2024
If there was anyone who would understand the need for a Recreation and Wellness Centre at Ƶ (OC), it would be Alex Recsky.Recsky was hired as OC’s first recreation and intramurals programmer in 1986. It was a job he loved and pursued with passion until his retirement 10 years later, introducing thousands of students to sports and recreational opportunities.Now, Alex’s family are honoring him and his wife Ruth, who are both in their 90s, with a $30,000 donation to the Thrive Here campaign for the Recreation and Wellness Centre...
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Major gift from BMO to support community progress is worth smiling about
April 9, 2024
A major gift from BMO will support community dental care while making it easier for more people to train to become in-demand Certified Dental Assistants (CDAs).BMO is giving $250,000 to Ƶ’s (OC) Our Students, Your Health campaign in support of the CDA program. OC’s state-of-the-art dental suite, used for training and as a community clinic, will receive $150,000. An additional $100,000 will be used to kickstart a hands-on learning pilot program that will enable people to become CDAs while they continue to work.In recogni...
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Suspense and intrigue guaranteed in Red Dot Players' biggest production yet
March 8, 2024
Get your ticket and climb aboard for a delightful evening of murder and mystery as OC’s Red Dot Players bring to life Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express. For the play’s assistant Director and OC alumna Kendra Holly Grant, the support of Red Dot Players and her former professor has given her the opportunity to take her skills from the classroom to directing her first show. “I am very excited to progress my knowledge with Jeremy Beaulne, who was my teacher and mentor while attending Ƶ,” said Grant. “...
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Thrive Here video celebrates lessons learned in a 'classroom like no other'
March 8, 2024
For 20-year-old AJ Nguoth, playing basketball is about more than jump shots and free throws.On the court, Nguoth says he works through real life struggles as he's putting his energy into the game. Playing basketball is also a reminder that he is on the right path. The sport has been his north star since he was 11, keeping him focused on school and inspiring him to dream big for his life.Nguoth, an Ƶ Coyotes Basketball player and first-year OC student, is one of several student athletes featured in a new video by the Okanagan ...
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Highstreet champions careers in Trades with $1-million gift to Ƶ to benefit students
February 28, 2024
Are you considering post-secondary? Kelowna-based real estate and development company, Highstreet, wants you to know that pursuing a skilled trade can lead to a rewarding career, full of growth, success and leadership opportunities.It is this message and a desire to support students that has motivated Highstreet to donate an astounding $1 million dollars to Ƶ’s Trades and Apprenticeship programs.Their gift will focus on providing financial support to students starting an entry-level trades program. Thirteen annual bursaries o...
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Serwa Spirit Match to raise $1M for Thrive Here campaign for a Recreation and Wellness Centre
February 7, 2024
Cliff Serwa describes himself and his wife Lois as just ‘ordinary people with a fair bit of determination working to make things happen.’ That may be true, but the results and impact of their determination on the community, the province and beyond are far reaching and forever lasting. And now they are leading the way to a better future for students at Ƶ (OC).When approached to support the Thrive Here campaign to build a much-needed Recreation and Wellness Centre at the College’s Kelowna campus, not only did Cliff and Loi...
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City of Kelowna supports OC trades programs through garbage truck donation
November 1, 2023
One person’s trash certainly can be another’s treasure. The City of Kelowna proved the old saying true by donating a garbage truck to Ƶ’s Trades and Apprenticeship program this September. “When we determined that this garbage truck was at the end of its service life, we were happy to donate it as a hands-on training tool for Ƶ students,” said Scott Hoekstra, Manager, Landfill & Composing Operations, City of Kelowna. “We’re facing a shortage of skilled trades professionals, and we know that this donation w...
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THRIVE HERE campaign kicks off with record-level support
October 25, 2023
Ƶ Foundation launches campaign to build a new Recreation and Wellness Centre at its Kelowna campus; Folk family makes record-setting gift KELOWNA - It’s ‘Game Day’ at Ƶ! Today, OC students, donors, leaders, staff and community members came together to celebrate the launch of the Thrive Here campaign to build a new Recreation and Wellness Centre on the Kelowna campus. Making the announcement to the approximately 100 people in attendance, including members from the OC Coyotes basketball and baseball teams, Okan...
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OC fundraiser to light way for new childcare centre
October 18, 2023
Dress up with your kids, enjoy a matinee, then parade downtown Vernon with glow up lanterns and a stilt walker. An upcoming event aims to cast a glow on children’s faces while also lighting a path for a new childcare centre at Ƶ’s Vernon campus. The Ƶ Foundation is hosting Glow UP: A Matinee, Masquerade and Lantern Light Up Saturday, Oct. 28. Participants can make their own lanterns at an upcoming workshop hosted by local artists at Ƶ Saturday, Oct. 21 between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.&nb...
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OC student chefs supporting community
August 25, 2023
You can call it cooking with love. Students from the Okanagan Chef School at Ƶ dropped plans this week for a final feast to celebrate the end of their program and jumped into supporting the local emergency response instead. Typically, students at the Okanagan Chef School host a community dinner at the end of their year and one was planned for this week. However, when the event had to be cancelled due to the area wildfires, the students decided to shift their focus to preparing meals for those engaged in the response ...
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OC community steps up to support wildfire efforts
August 24, 2023
The OC community has been busy this week, stepping up to support wildfire efforts in their communities and supporting friends, family and neighbours in many different ways. The cancellation of this week’s Connections event at Ƶ, an event led by employees to kick off a new school year, meant some timely donations of lunches and snacks went out to people who are supporting the wildfire efforts in the Okanagan Valley. It was just one example of the many efforts the OC community has undertaken in their communities. Thank ...
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$40,000 gift creates lasting tribute to former Okanagan University College Professor Dr. Sylvia Janet Russell
June 27, 2023
In her twenty-year tenure as a history professor at Okanagan University College (the predecessor to Ƶ), Dr. Sylvia Janet Russell breathed life into bustling classrooms, transforming them into vibrant hubs of knowledge and inspiration. Now in a fitting tribute to her legacy, an anonymous $40,000 gift will establish a bursary fund in her honour. The Dr. Sylvia Janet Russell Memorial Fund will provide bursaries to students who have fulfilled the graduation requirements for Ƶ’s Associate of Arts diploma - with a p...
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Plant a Seed Day fundraiser sprouts an impressive $66,000 in gifts for the new Sunflower Childcare Centre on OC's Vernon Campus
May 17, 2023
Ƶ Foundation is thrilled to announce the success of Plant a Seed Day, a fun-filled, family-friendly fundraiser that, thanks to generous community support, raised $66,000 for the Sunflower Childcare Centre. The funds will be put towards equipment, furnishings, supplies, and a creative outdoor space where kids can learn and play. Event guests had the opportunity to experience child-led yoga, sunflower-themed art classes, country line dancing, and a delicious lemonade crawl – all made possible thanks to generous sponsors: Kal T...
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Sowing the seeds for a better future for student parents in Vernon
April 28, 2023
College Foundation hosts fundraiser for new Sunflower Childcare Centre Sunflowers blooming, the promise of new beginnings, and brighter futures for student parents in Vernon will be the focus of Ƶ Foundation’s upcoming Plant a Seed Day Fundraiser. The fun-filled event will take place on May 10, between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. and will support the new, affordable, 44-seat on-campus Sunflower Childcare Centre, operated by local, non-profit childcare provider Maven Lane. Guests will be invited to “tap into their inner child”...
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Bridging the way to success: Emil Anderson Construction gives $75,000 to modernize Ƶ’s Civil Engineering Technology Program
April 17, 2023
If you walk past Ƶ’s Kelowna campus on a weekday afternoon, you’re sure to see Civil Engineering Technology students spread out across the grounds, gathering environmental data using surveying equipment. This skill is essential to their education and will one day help them shape our built environments. Thanks to a generous $75,000 gift from Emil Anderson Construction, students will have increased access to state-of-the-art surveying equipment to train on by fall of 2023. “We are proud to support Ƶ’s Civil Engi...
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